1. Field
The present invention generally relates to communication and, in particular, to techniques for providing the Short Message Service (SMS) to be delivered on DO and 1x networks or interfaces and for decreasing the load on the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) interface.
2. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various types of services such as voice, packet data, broadcast, and so on. These wireless networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks, and so on. A network typically refers to a deployment of a system, although these two terms are also used interchangeably.
Each wireless network utilizes a particular air interface to support over-the-air communication and typically further implements a particular mobile networking protocol that supports roaming and advanced services. For example, a CDMA network utilizes a CDMA air interface and an ANSI-41 networking protocol. The CDMA network may implement one or more CDMA standards such as IS-2000 (1xEV), IS-856 (1x-EVDO), IS-95, and so on. The CDMA network may provide a broadcast service that broadcasts messages to users within the network. The broadcast messages can carry various types of information such as news, traffic reports, weather information, and so on.
The broadcast services in the CDMA networks are implemented with Short Message Service (SMS), which is a service that supports the exchange of short messages between a wireless network and wireless devices (e.g., cellular phones). SMS is network technology dependent, and different SMS implementations have been defined for ANSI-41. Each SMS implementation has different capabilities and utilizes different message types and formats for sending SMS messages. The SMS implementation for an ANSI-41 network is described in a document TIA/EIA-637-B, entitled “Short Message Service for Wideband Spread Spectrum Systems,” which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference. As the amount of broadcast messages increases in the CDMA networks, there is a need to decrease the load on the Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) by delivering the SMS on the DO interface when it is available.